The 4C Association’s General Assembly Sees Strong Commitment to Sustainably Produced Coffee

Over 70 members met in Geneva to set the future direction of the 4C Association and outline the plan to deliver increasing volumes of sustainably produced coffee.

Bonn, 2 October 2012. The 4C Association, the global platform for sustainable coffee, is pleased to announce the successful outcome of its 3rd General Assembly, which was held in Geneva, Switzerland on 26-27 September 2012. Under the motto “Take-off for Delivery”, the gathering brought together key stakeholders from around the world to discuss and define the future direction of the 4C Association and its baseline standard for sustainable coffee.
The 4C Association has experienced tremendous growth in membership since its last General Assembly – from fewer than 140 members three years ago to 221 members to date. Today, the majority of the coffee industry’s key players, from producers to traders, roasters and civil society actors are represented in this unique and flourishing roundtable effort.
Major companies, including Mondelēz International, Nestlé, Tchibo and Strauss, have publicly committed to purchasing more coffee that meets the 4C baseline standard. In addition, more coffee producers are becoming actively involved. To ensure continuous growth over the coming years and raise the bar for the industry, participants at the General Assembly agreed on the following actions:
-To set the basis for a Three-year Delivery Plan which will boost volumes of 4C Compliant Coffee while maintaining the credibility of the 4C system.
-To strengthen collaboration with other sustainability standards, including 4C Members Fairtrade International, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ Certified which will help to scale up the volume of sustainably produced coffee.
-To adopt a new governance structure for the 4C Association. Participants elected 11 Council Members who represent the tri-partite 4C membership structure of the 4C Association: coffee farmers, coffee trade and industry and civil society organisations.
“With the new business model in place, the new governance structure and the newly-elected Council we are now in an excellent position to define a Three-year Plan that will ensure the Association is taking- off for delivery,” said Robert Waggwa Nsibirwa, the newly elected Chairman of the 4C Council and Board Member of the African Fine Coffee Association (AFCA). “The 3rd General Assembly was a unique event in the sense that it provided the opportunity for many members to meet other members in person for the first time, exchange ideas and make important decisions that will shape the future work of the 4C Association,” he added.

Media Contacts:

For media inquiries, please contact Verónica Pérez Sueiro, 4C Communication Manager: +49 176 27424440, veronica.perez@4c-coffeeassociation.org

The 4C Association is the multi-stakeholder organization that brings together actors that are genuinely committed to addressing the sustainability issues of the coffee sector in a pre-competitive manner. The members of the 4C Association include coffee farmers (both big and small), traders (importers and exporters), industry players (coffee roasters and retailers) and civil society (non-governmental organizations, standard setting inititiatives and trade unions). This global community works together to improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of farmers who make their living growing coffee. Members also include individuals committed to this goal.
Together the members of the 4C Association developed the 4C Code of Conduct which sets out baseline social, environmental and economic principles for the sustainable production and trade of green coffee. For more information: www.4c-coffeeassociation.org

4C Association
Veronica Perez Sueiro
Adenauerallee 108
D - 53113 Bonn
phone: 0049-228-8505015
email: veronica.perez@4c-coffeeassociation.org
web: www.4c-coffeeassociation.org

This release was published on openPR.